The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
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* Notes * The Mark Morris Dance Group just finished a run of L'Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato at Cal Performances. It seemed to be a success, the audience was entertained and amused. The dancing struck me, however, as sloppy. Many of the angles as far as arm and leg positions were not consistent on…
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Peter Pastreich has been appointed the executive director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. He takes up the position on June 1, 2009. Press Release [PDF] | Official Site | Background from IToM
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* Notes * Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra just finished a run of Händel's Athalia. The orchestra has a fastidious, jaunty sound, and Nicholas McGegan is always consistent. None of the singers were outstanding. Marnie Breckenridge as Josabeth had too much vibrato, and though it was clear her voice could be beautiful in some repertoire, it was not…
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* Notes * Philharmonia Baroque gave an excellent concert last night in San Francisco. Their sound tends toward the clean and fastidious. The evening began with Francesco Maria Veracini's light, elegant Overture No. 6 in G minor followed by the jaunty Concerto a più instrumenti, Op. 5, No. 3 from Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco. Vivaldi's Concerto in…
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September 10-15 2009: Apothesis of the Dance: Haydn Bicentennial October 9-17 2009: An Adversarial Friendship: Muffat, Telemann November 5-14 2009: The Passion of Dido: Purcell's 350th birthday December 4-11 2009: Gloria!: Vivaldi, Torelli, Sammartini February 11-14 2010: An Elegant Romance: Brahms March 5-13 2010: The French Suite in Europe: Dumanoir, Lully, TelemannApril 8-13 2010: Orlando's Madness: Händel…
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* Notes * Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra played an all-Mendelssohn program in honor of his 200th birthday last week. The playing was quite clean and détaché, which was fine for the Three Motets, Op. 39, but was perhaps less appropriate for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21 & 61. The evening began with The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave), Op. 26,…
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* Notes * Philharmonia Baroque's first performance of The Queen of Egypt concert occurred last night in San Francisco. The evening started with the overture from Graun's Cleopatra e Cesare, and Isabel Bayrakdarian sang the aria "Tra le procelle assorto" from that work. The horns had a few sour notes, and Bayrakdarian warbled a bit,…
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June 8 2008: Corelli by CandlelightSeptember 13-20 2008: Myth and the Muse (Arne and Rameau)October 17-24 2008: Bach ReconstructedOctober 25 2008: An Evening at the PalaceNovember 13-16 2008: A Classic Triple (Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart)December 5-12 2008: Natale BaroccoFebruary 5-8 2009: Midwinter Magic (Mendelssohn)March 20-28 2009: Wind and WavesApril 18-25 2009: Handel's Wicked Queen (Athalia)May…
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Philharmonia Baroque has a billboard on Fifth Street at Harrison, visible from Interstate 80 West. The advertisement features soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian in costume as Cleopatra, as she is singing a number of arias in that role in March. Handel's Giulio Cesare, Graun's Cleopatra e Cesare, and Matheson's The Death of Cleopatra. The concert also includes…
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* Notes * Viktoria Mullova played Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra from February 8-11, 2007. The Saturday performance in Berkeley sold-out. Mullova's playing was fast and raw, at times she seemed out of tune. As for the orchestra, they could have been slightly more legato. I must admit, the…
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